Providing fuel into the combustion chamber of an engine during operation must occur in an extremely small amount of time. As engine speed increases the amount of time for fuel injection decreases. In engines operating on gaseous fuels, a relatively large volume of fuel is needed in this short amount of time. Thus, fuel injectors with high speed actuation capabilities are desirable in order to provide engines with enough fuel in a short amount of time. Furthermore, in some applications, multiple pilot injections of fuel are desirable for power and emissions optimization. Thus, fuel injectors with high speed actuation capabilities are also desirable in order to provide multiple injections in a short amount of time. Accordingly, there is a need for an actuator that can open and close a valve quickly. There is a further need for a fuel injector that can open and close quickly.